Time and Secrets
by Nimmireth
Summary: A case where the rapist asks for the time and there is a victim that no one knows about.
1. Victim One

**Disclaimer: I do not own L&O: SVU. **

**Author's Note: I made up the Kristen Delani case, just for your information. Okieday…My first SVU fic, so be nice but brutally honest. Reviews are greatly appreciated, umm…I love SVU…umm…yeah…I'm done now so that you can read my fic. Enjoy…and review! **

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 1: Victim One _

By: Nimmireth

_In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories. _

**_Law & Order: Special Victims Unit _**

Special Victims Unit 

"Olivia!" shouted Elliot Stabler from across the room. "We've got another one. Her name is Amelia Robbins, age 23; she was on her way to work when some guy asked her for the time. She told him what time it was and he stabbed her with a pocket knife. He dragged her into an empty alley and raped her. She's at Mercy right now."

"All right, I'm coming," Detective Benson responded. She grabbed her black jacket from her chair and set off with her partner to Mercy General Hospital.

Mercy General Hospital 

"I had just gotten out of my car. The place was completely empty except for this one guy who was walking towards the C.D department next to the clothing store I work at. Then he turned around and asked me for the time. I told him what time it was and then he said 'you're late' and he took out his pocket knife and stabbed me with it. Then he dragged me into the alley and tried to take my skirt off. I started to fight back, but he was too strong for me. He managed to take off my skirt and my underwear. Then he started to stab and beat my legs. He then took his pants off and raped me. When he was done he told me that I should be on time. Then he just got up, put his clothes back on and walked away, like nothing happened," the victim told the two detectives with tears down her face. Her face had been scratched and was sporting some bruises on her arms where he restrained her.

"Okay, Amelia, can you tell us anything that you think we should know about him?" asked Olivia.

"Definitely. He was about 5'10", had blonde hair, blue eyes, he was wearing a Sam Goody shirt—that was why I thought he worked there—black pants, looked about my age, and he had a big bruise on his left eye," she told them with ease.

"Okay," Olivia said as Elliot wrote down the description of the perpetrator. "Thank you so much, Amelia, that was a big help. You did a great job."

"No problem. You just catch the bastard who raped me," Amelia said.

"Don't worry; we will," Elliot said to her as he and his partner walked out of the room. "Either this guy is really stupid or he had no idea what he was doing," he said to his partner. "He attacks a girl in broad daylight right next to where he works and he thinks that he's going to get away with it? I'm so proud of this girl for speaking up."

"Yeah, me too. I don't know what he was thinking. He could just have been really stupid or he could be up to something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but it's like you said. He rapes a girl in the middle of the daytime when she can get a brilliant description of him. So, like I said, either he's really stupid or he's up to something."

"All right, we'll see. But right now we have to go pick this guy up at the Sam Goody and see what he has to say."

Sam Goody 

"Ross? Rape someone? Hardly believe that could ever happen," The manager, Alan Lestin, told the detectives when questioned where he would be. "His younger sister was sexually assaulted a few years ago. I doubt that he would want to do what hurt his sister."

"What was her name?" Olivia asked, suddenly interested at this new piece of information.

"Kristen Delani, some guy jumped on her while she was coming home from a party. He beat the crap out of her. Poor thing was only fifteen at the time."

"That was Munch and Fin's case," Olivia told Elliot. "I remember they needed me to talk to her because she had RTS and wouldn't say anything. Perp's name was Justin Felix and he got put away for 15 years,"

"Yeah, I remember now," he told his partner and then turned back to Alan. "We would still like to see this Ross fellow that works here."

Alan shrugged. "All right, if you must." He promptly walked over to where Ross was standing. "Hey, ROSS, there are some cops here who want to talk to you!"

Ross Delani was the exact description that Amelia had given him. He turned to face the detectives and there was a big huge bruise on his left eye. He was about 5'10" and indeed had bright blonde hair, blue eyes, black pants and a shirt that bore the logo for Sam Goody. "Ah, Ross," Elliot said brightly. "You look just how I pictured," he quipped.

"I don't know what you mean, officer," Ross said.

"Detective," Elliot corrected and flashed his badge. "I'm Detective Stabler and this is my partner Detective Benson."

"Well, Detective," he began, putting an emphasis on the word detective. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"If you don't mind, we would like it if you came down to the precinct with us for a moment and ask you some questions," Elliot told him calmly.

He shrugged. "Okay," he said and put down the C.D that he was holding. He then turned to Alan and gave him a thumbs up signal, to which Alan nodded.

Elliot led him out and into the car to head back to Special Victims.

Special Victims Unit 

As Elliot and Olivia led Ross into Special Victims, they saw Fin, Munch, Cragen, and Casey talking to each other about a case. Casey then looked up at them. Her eyes became huge and her breathing became heavier as she watched Elliot and Olivia put Ross into one of the interrogation rooms.

Casey then ran up to Olivia. "What's he here for?" She asked, slightly out of breath.

Olivia looked confused. "Raping someone? Why?"

"Who?" Casey asked, becoming really worried.

"A 23 year old named Amelia Robbins. Why do you want to know, Casey?"

She exhaled a breath of relief. "Oh, umm, no reason. I-I've got to get back to work." With that she turned on her heel and went back to Munch, Fin, and Cragen.

Olivia still had a confused look on her face when her partner walked up to her. "What was that about?"

"I really don't know," she replied before her cell phone went off. "Benson," she responded. "What! Are you kidding me? How?...Uh-huh…okay…thanks for letting me know…I'll try…all right…Bye."

"What happened?" Her partner asked with a look of concern on his face.

Olivia looked at him sadly. "Amelia Robbins killed herself."


	2. Frustrations and Thoughts

**Disclaimer: SVU be not mine. **

**Author's Note: This chapter includes reflections of rape and it's a little graphic, just a fair warning for those of you who are squeamish. I know I say this a lot, but PLEASE review. I see all of the 'hits' that I got on it and only got a review from a very trusty friend who doesn't even watch SVU…If it isn't too much to ask, PLEASE review, but no flames…constructive criticism, yes…flames, no. K? thankies…By the way, I'm leaving for six weeks so I won't be able to update for a while…saweez…REVIEW! **

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 2: Frustrations and Thoughts _

By: Nimmireth

Special Victims Unit: Interrogation 

"Hey, Ross, how's it going?" Elliot said as he and Olivia entered the interrogation room. Elliot clapped him on the back and Ross cringed a little bit.

"I'm fine, Detective, how about you?" he said calmly.

"Oh, just great. Except there is just one problem," he told Ross, going back into cop mode. "A 23 year old woman had to go to the hospital today because she was raped."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "Well, don't lots of people have to go to the hospital because they were attacked?"

"Oh, so you know a little something about this?" Olivia asked him.

"I'd like to think that I would. You see, my sister was raped a few years ago. She had to stay in the hospital for a really long time for DNA and all of these other weird tests."

"That's very sad, I'm sorry that happened to her. But you see, this woman at the hospital today, she gave us a description of the person who raped her. Guess what? The description looked exactly like you," Olivia told him.

He sighed. "Well, Detective Benson, I don't know what to say to you. All I can say is that I didn't rape anyone; I was at work most of the day. Before that I had gotten in a small car accident and had to go to the hospital and get looked at."

"I'll be sure to see if that's true," Olivia said. With that they both walked out of the room while Olivia took out her cell phone to make some calls.

Office of Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak 

Casey sat at her desk, fingers entwined within each other on her chin. Her eyes had tears welled up in them, threatening to pour down her cheeks for a reason that only she knew. She wanted to forget, but it refused to leave her mind. It stood out clear in her mind, distracting her in every way possible.

"_Excuse me, do you have the time?" _

"_Yeah, it's 9:45," she said checking her watch. _

"_You're late," he said, and with that pulled out a pocket knife and jabbed it into her abdomen. _

Casey flinched as she recalled how painful it was to have the blade of his knife shoved into her. She lifted up the bottom of her shirt so that it was just underneath her chest. She had put a bandage around the wound but could still see the bruises surrounding the rest of her stomach area. She placed her hand on the bandage.

_She groaned in pain and fell to the ground. He pushed her down the 15 foot hill surrounded by bushes and trees. She rolled all of the way down and he followed her. She took one of her feet and jammed it right into his eye. _

She looked down at her now high-heeled shoes. Then she looked over in the corner where she hid her tennis shoes; the shoe had a small patch of blood on it.

_He managed to get a hold on her legs and started stabbing and punching at her inner thighs. He then promptly flipped her skirt so that it was touching the edge of her neck. She could feel him moving her underwear slowly down her legs. That was when he punched her stomach and she flinched and groaned. She heard him unzip his pants. He was coming closer and closer to her. _

Her phone rang. She jumped. "Novak, Sex Crimes," she answered in a timid voice.

"Hey, it's Fin, I was just wondering…" But she wasn't even listening to what he was saying; she had other things on her mind.

_He kept on thrusting harder and harder inside of her. It hurt her so much. She even elbowed him in the ear to try and make him stop, but he kept on going, harder still. _

"Casey!" Fin shouted.

"Wha-What?" She jumped.

"I said 'is that okay with you?"

"Is what okay with me?"

"Is it okay if we arrest the guy? Didn't Judge Davidson sign the warrant for his arrest?"

She thought hard to try and remember if he did. Finally it came to her after thinking about the man who raped her. "Yes, he did. Go arrest the son of a bitch," she said trying to sound normal.

"Okay, thanks."

"All right, bye Fin," she said and with that replaced the phone into the receiver. That was when she tried to get back to work, but then something else crossed her mind.

_He finally stood up. "You should be on time," he told her and with that put his pants back on and just walked away. It took her a moment to realize what had just happened to her. She was laying there, in a wooded area, her bottom half completely exposed to the rest of the world. She sat up and looked down at the ground. What she saw made her think. _

She looked at her briefcase and reached into one of the pockets. Out of the pocket she pulled a small, zip-lock, plastic bag. In it was a five inch long woodchip. About an inch of it was covered in the rapist's semen.

_She put her underwear back on and raced up to the top of the hill. The idiot had left her briefcase there. She grabbed it and brought it down with her. On the way down she pulled out a plastic bag containing some baby carrots in case she got hungry. She poured them all out of the bag on the way down. When she got back to the scene of the crime, she picked up the end that was not covered in semen with her fingertips. She put it in the bag and zipped it up. She crammed it back into her briefcase and ran as fast as she possibly could. _

She stared at the woodchip for what felt like forever. That's when her phone rang again. "Novak, Sex Crimes."

"We got him, Casey," Munch told her.

"Good job, John," she told him.

"Thanks. We'll let you know if we get anything else."

"All right. Thanks, John," and hung up. She went back to looking at the woodchip. It pissed her off so much. It was so random that it happened to her and she didn't know what she was going to do about it.

She crammed the bag back into her briefcase and the tears that were threatening to pour down her face finally did. She covered her face with her hands and let out slow and steady breaths as the tears came out.

Special Victims Unit 

"How's your sister doing?" Elliot asked to try and kill time while his partner was on the phone.

"All right, considering the fact that she was raped. I always told her to watch out for guys, even if they just ask you for the time."

Elliot made the connection there; he remembered Amelia said that the man who raped her asked her for the time before she was attacked. "What do you mean? If some guy were to come out and ask you for the time he can just jump on you with a knife?" Elliot wondered aloud.

"Maybe," he responded.

That was when Olivia walked in. "Elliot," she called with some concern in her voice.

Elliot stood up and walked out of the interrogation room. "What's going on?"

She sighed. "The hospital confirms that he went there for some sort of injury to his eye. Alan confirms that he was on time and working the whole time."

"What? How is that possible? We've got him!"

"I know, but with Amelia dead and this new info we have some serious issues." She sighed. "For all we know, the rapist could still be out there, El. We have to find him."


	3. Winded

**Disclaimer: SVU belongs to Dick Wolf. Any characters you do not recognize are mine, though. **

**Author's Note: I am so incredibly, terribly sorry that I didn't update when I said I would. When I got back from camp I got lazy and then school started a week later. So, again, my deepest apologies. It's a little short, but I will try to update more often.With that said, read and REVIEW!**

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 3: Winded _

By: Nimmireth

Courtroom 

"Docket number 21654, People vs. Kenny Rodgers; kidnapping in the first degree, child endangerment in the first degree, rape in the first degree," a court marshal said.

"Mr. Rodgers, how do you plead?" asked Judge Petrovsky.

"Guilty."

"Sentencing will take place June 20th, we're adjourned," she picked up the gavel and hit it.

Casey stood up and met Munch and Fin at the doorway. "Nice job, Casey," Fin said.

"Thanks," she replied. Across the room outside the courtroom she saw Olivia and Elliot. She ran over to them. "Hey, that guy that you had yesterday, what did you do with him?"

"Ross?"

"The blond guy, had a bruise on his eye," she emphasized.

"Yeah, Ross. We had to let him go," Olivia told her sadly.

Casey panicked. "Why?"

"He has an alibi. And the victim killed herself so she can't make an identification. Why are you so obsessed with the guy?"

"I'm not. I just wanted to know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work," she snapped.

"What's up with her and Ross?" Olivia asked her partner.

"I don't know," he said as his cell phone began to ring. "Stabler…all right, we'll be right there…thanks…bye."

"What's up?"

"We've got another one at Mercy; Melissa Albert, 27, raped on her way to work. They just finished checking her out. She was unconscious when they found her so they still have a CSU checking out the scene. I'll go there, you talk to Melissa."

"Will do."

Mercy General Hospital 

"I was walking out of Starbucks and heading toward my car to go to work. Then this guy just walked up to me and asked me if I had the time. I told him what time it was and then he said 'you're late.' Then he took out a pocket knife and stabbed me. He dragged me into the alley next door and started to take my pants and underwear off. He started beating my legs apart. Then he took off his pants and raped me. When he was, you know, done, he said that I should be on time and walked away, zipping up," Melissa told Olivia.

The story was beginning to sound all too familiar when she asked. "Is there anything that you can tell me about him?"

She nodded. "He was pretty tall. He had blond hair and blue eyes, about my age."

Olivia wrote this down. "Okay, anything else?"

"Umm…blue shirt, black pants…oh yeah; he had a bruise on his eye, too."

"Thank you," Olivia said. "Don't worry; we're going to get this guy," she assured her.

Melissa nodded and wiped some of the tears from her eyes. Olivia rubbed her shoulder and walked out of the room, dialing Elliot's cell number.

"Stabler," he answered.

"Elliot, it's the same guy. Melissa's description is the same exact thing that Amelia told us. He did the same exact thing, too; he asked the girl for the time and when she gave it to him he said 'you're late' and stabbed them with a pocket knife. He then drags them into an alley, takes off their clothes, beats their legs and rapes them. When he's done he says 'you should be on time,' and just walks away. Elliot, what the hell are we getting ourselves into?"

Elliot sighed. "I don't know, but CSU discovered a good print next to where Melissa was found. Bastard was completely careless. We're going to the lab to check that out now."

"All right, I'll meet you there," she said then closed her phone.

Crime Lab 

Olivia arrived just when the print was being analyzed. "Anything yet?"

"Not yet, we just got started. I'm running it through the criminal database first. If I don't get anything then I'll look through military, FBI, etc. But for now, let's just wait and see what comes up."

Then suddenly, the computer began to beep. "Looks like it found a match already. This guy was arrested for drug possession and distribution in '95."

"Who is he?" Elliot asked, he and Olivia walking up next to the computer.

Hate began to surge throughout their entire bodies as they saw who was on the screen. It was a man, 5'10", blond hair, and blue eyes. "Is this your guy?"

"Ross Delani," Elliot said. "Yeah, that's our guy."


	4. Arraignment and an ID

**Disclaimer: No es mio... literally: no is mine **

**Author's Note: This chapter is a little stupid, but it will get better. I promise…just read it and review…**

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 4: Arraignment and an ID _

By: Nimmireth

Special Victims Unit 

"You are so busted, Ross," Elliot told the criminal after they had been allowed to arrest him. Elliot put the pictures of Melissa's injuries on the table in front of him. "Recognize anything?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about. I swear I was at work the whole entire day. I don't know what on earth made you think that I raped people when my own sister was raped. I wouldn't do something like that—"

"Well, a fingerprint match says that you did," Elliot explained.

"What are you talking about!"

"A fingerprint was found next to the victim's body," Olivia began. "It was yours, Ross. If I were you I'd try to explain why it was there or, if I did it, confess."

"I didn't do it!"

"Then why were your prints there?" Elliot demanded.

"I don't know!"

"Reasonable answer," Olivia said sarcastically.

"Look, I don't know why you guys think that I would commit a crime like that! I was so pissed of at the guy who raped my sister!"

"I'm sure you were, you were selling drugs to him before," Olivia told him. "But then he got really annoying so you stopped selling to him, but he thought it was time for a little payback so he went for the thing that you were closest to and caused great pain."

Ross took a deep breath. "I don't know how you found out about that, but that little bastard raped my sister. This also explains why I wouldn't rape someone. I love Kristen so much and I spent almost every hour in the hospital with her. She was bawling like a baby and I cried a couple times myself. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone."

Elliot leaned into Ross's face. "Then why was your fingerprint at the scene of the crime?"

"I. Don't. Know. Detective," he said.

"All right, guys, come on. We're going in circles. Ross you need to tell us why your prints were there," Olivia told him.

Ross breathed angrily before saying. "I want a lawyer."

Courtroom 

"Docket 31247, People vs. Ross Delani; two counts of rape in the first degree."

"Mr. Delani, how do you plead?" Judge Lawrence asked.

"Not guilty, you're Honor," Ross said.

"Bail, Ms. Novak?"

She wasn't thinking about bail, she was thinking about the fact that the person who raped her was in the same room with her. All she could do was stare at him; she didn't want to, but she did. The second he entered the room she thought that she saw a look of panic in his eyes, but that thought soon faded when she remembered the knife penetrating through her body. She brought her hand up to her wounded stomach.

"Ms. Novak?" the judge asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, coming out of her trance.

"Bail?"

"No. Why would there be?" She wondered.

"Well, because he has the right to have it. Tell you what, defendant is remanded and bail is set for one million," and the judge banged the gavel. The bailiffs brought the defendant back into custody while Casey was trying very hard not to think about him. She just began packing up as fast as she could so that she could leave.

However, when she was putting some files into her briefcase she stared at the pocket that contained the semen sample. That would always be her constant reminder that she had been raped. Violated. A victim. She felt the tears in her eyes again. She tried to blink them away and wiped her eyes. She was going to make him pay for what he did to her. She was sure of that. No matter what, it was going to cost him.

Special Victims Unit: Identification 

"Just take your time, all right, Melissa?" Olivia told the victim later that day in identification.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she said. Elliot was standing on the other side of her with Ross's lawyer, Michelle Landenberg, behind him. Casey was waiting in the far back, determined not to see the face of her rapist.

The six men filed into the room and they each held a number in front of them. Ross was number 5, and when Casey saw him, she gasped. But it wasn't heard over Melissa's immediate reaction. "Oh, my god! That's him, number five! He raped me!" The victim turned away from the window and tears drifted down the side of her face.

Olivia took the victim around her shoulders and Elliot walked out of the room talking to Michelle. Casey kept staring at the mirror; at the rapist. He had hurt other people. _Oh my God, _she thought to herself, _it's all my fault. If I had said something then maybe he wouldn't have hurt these other girls. But I can't. I can't tell them. It's so embarrassing. Why should I tell them? It's hurts enough to think about it, but to talk about it is so much worse. I can't. I can't do it… _

"Casey?" Olivia beckoned. "Are you all right?"

Casey was brought out of her stupor; she had just realized that she had been trembling. "What? Y-Yeah, I'm fine. No worries."

Olivia gave her a look of disbelief. "Casey, what's going on?"

"Nothing," she replied a little too quickly. "Really, there's nothing. I'm all right." And with that she turned to the door and walked out of the room, the tears forming in her eyes again.

Special Victims Unit 

"This is insane," Michelle Landenberg was saying to Elliot after Melissa made the identification. "My client has an alibi for the rape of Amelia Robbins, he couldn't have done that. As for the rape of Melissa Albert, I'm sure he has a valid alibi for that, as well."

"The victim clearly identified him and his fingerprint was found at the scene of the crime," Elliot told her. "If that's not sufficient evidence then I don't know what is. AND the DNA is being tested right now so if it matches then your buddy, Ross, is screwed."

"Elliot," Olivia interrupted, walking up to her partner. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

He nodded. "Excuse me," he said to Michelle. "What's up?" he asked his partner.

"It's Casey," she told him.

"Yeah, what about her?" he wondered.

"Have you noticed that she's been acting differently lately?"

"Differently how?"

"Well, she's just not herself. You know how she's normally mentally with us? I've noticed that she's just become a space case and with that a little paranoid."

"Like when?"

"Well, remember when we brought Ross in the first time?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she came up to me and asked what he was arrested for. I told her he was here for rape. She became all panicky and asked who. I told her it was Amelia and she then pretended like nothing was wrong. Then when I told her that we had to let Ross go she panicked."

"You think this has something to do with him?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll ask her after the trial tomorrow."


	5. Trial

**Disclaimer: Owning SVU would be cool…but sadly I don't…tear tear... But I do own people that you don't recognize from SVU…hehe… **

**Author's Note: My apologies for not updating in a while again; my teachers just love giving out a bunch of homework and quizzes and such...bleh, school is weird. I think this chapter is a little inefficiant, but...whatever...just read and review and I will be happy...**

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 5: Trial _

By: Nimmireth

Courtroom 

"…Then he said 'you should be on time,' stood up, zipped up his pants, and just walked away," Melissa told the jury.

"Can you point to the man who did this to you?" Casey asked the rape victim in what appeared to be a normal tone. Melissa then promptly pointed at the defendant. "May the record reflect that the victim has identified the defendant, Ross Delani. I have no further questions, You're Honor," she continued and then sat down.

The judge nodded. "Ms. Landenberg?"

"I have no questions for this witness, you're Honor," she told him.

Again, he nodded. "You may step down, Ms. Albert. Ms. Novak?"

"The People would like to call Crime Scene Investigator Angelina Harrison to the stand," she told the judge.

Seconds later, the African-American woman was sworn in and questioned. "Ms. Harrison, would you please tell us what you looked for when you were at the scene of the crime after you discovered that Ms. Albert had been sexually assaulted?"

"Well, first we looked for hairs, fibers, or any seminal fluids that were left behind after the attack," she began. Seminal fluids. Casey turned to her briefcase and stared at it before she asked the next question. "And did you find any?"

"No, but we did find a fingerprint right next to where the victim was found," She explained.

Casey paced slowly as the CSI continued to talk. "Then what did you do with it?"

"I ran it through the criminal database."

"And?"

"And it matched the defendants print from when he was arrested for drug possession and distribution in 1995."

"Anything else?"

"We were given a sample of his DNA and it is still being compared with the sample from the victim's rape kit."

"Thank you, Ms. Harrison. No more questions, your witness, Ms. Landenberg," Casey said as she turned around to walk back to her spot.

Michelle Landenberg rose from her seat and walked up in front of the CSI. "Ms. Harrison, you say that you are still running a comparison from my client's DNA to the DNA found in the victim."

"That is correct."

"So you don't know for sure if the DNA is a match to my client."

"Well, no, but the fingerprint does match his," she commented.

"Well, couldn't it have been from before?"

"I'm not quite sure I know what you mean," Angelina told her.

"Oh, for instance maybe he fell down in the alley days before. There is no method for determining how hold prints are, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

"So we don't really know for sure how old the print is."

"No," Angelina said, her voice somewhat dejected.

Michelle smiled and looked at the judge. "I have no further questions for this witness," she stated and turned around to sit with her client.

"You may step down. Do the People have any more witnesses?" the judge asked.

Casey looked up from her notebook and briefcase. "No, you're Honor, the People rest."

"Does the defense have any witnesses?"

"Yes, you're Honor, we would like to call Kristen Delani to the stand," Michelle informed everyone.

A blonde haired girl dressed in a pink skirt and a black shirt entered the courtroom. She walked up to the witness stand where the bailiff picked up a copy of the Bible and Kristen placed her right hand on it. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

"I do."

"Be seated."

Michelle stood up and walked in front of the table in which all of her belongings lay. "Would you state your name for the record?"

"Kristen Delani," she said.

"Now, Kristen, I know this isn't going to be a very easy topic for you to talk about, but I understand that three years ago Justin Felix sexually assaulted you."

"Yes, that's true," she told her, looking down at her knees.

"Now, your brother, Ross, how did he take it?"

"He was distraught," she said.

"Could you possibly elaborate on that?"

"Yeah, he hardly left my side when I was at the hospital and he rarely let me out of the house alone afterward. He was always there for me and he's always told me that he wouldn't wish what happened to me upon his worst enemy."

"Do you think that your brother could be capable of such a crime?"

"No way, even before I was raped he wouldn't think of doing such a thing," Kristen said.

"Thank you, Kristen, I have no more questions," she said as she turned around and sat down.

"Ms. Novak?" The judge called the prosecutor.

Casey flinched slightly when her name was called. She stood up and stepped up to Kristen. She looked directly into Kristen's eyes. Casey felt the pain that Kristen went through surge throughout her body. She knew exactly what Kristen was thinking and nearly burst into her own set of tears at the sight of the crying young girl in front of her. Casey stepped up to the witness stand and covered the microphone with her hands. "I know exactly what you went through," she told her in an unsteady voice.

Kristen gasped and stared intently at the person who was prosecuting her brother and did not look away. "No questions, Your Honor," the prosecutor told the judge.

He nodded. "You may step down, Miss Delani."

Kristen looked down and stood up, but as she left went back to her seat she never took her eyes off of Casey.

"Any other witnesses, Ms. Landenberg?" asked the judge.

"Yes, you're Honor. The defense would like to call Dr. Alice Briggs to the stand," she told him.

A brown haired Caucasian woman walked into the courtroom and was sworn under oath to tell the whole truth. "Dr. Briggs, did you treat Ross Delani on the morning of June 17th?"

"Yes, I did," she answered.

"What was wrong with him?"

"He had a bruise on his left eye and wanted to see if it needed any treatment."

"Did it need any treatment?"

"Yes, but not much. He had a small scratch over his eyebrow that was still bleeding," she told her. _Whoa, _Casey thought to herself, _I didn't know I had gotten him that good. That must have been where the blood came from. _

"What did my client say that this was from?"

"A small car accident."

"How long was he at the hospital?"

"Maybe a half an hour or so, it wasn't that bad," she said.

"Thank you. You're witness, Ms. Novak."

Casey stood up and walked over to the witness. "Did you happen to see the car in which Mr. Delani says was crashed?"

"No I did not, but I believe my colleague, Dr. Aaronson, says that he did."

"Did he say what it looked like?"

"Yeah, I believe he said that the entire passenger side was wrecked and the windshield had some broken glass."

_Shit, _she thought, _he probably crashed his own car, the moron. _"Did he say if there was any glass inside the vehicle?"

"I'm sorry," she wondered.

"Well, if there was any glass inside the vehicle then that means he probably would've been scratched more than once, am I right?"

"I suppose so."

"Did he have any other injuries aside from the one on his eye?"

"Objection, Relevance?"

"Ms. Novak, what are you suggesting?" the judge asked her.

It took her a couple moments to recuperate. She didn't really want to say in open court that she had been a victim of a crime committed by the person that she was prosecuting. "Withdrawn. I have no more questions."

"Dr. Briggs, you may step down. Ms. Landenberg?"

"The defense would like to call Alan Lestin to the stand," she said.

Soon afterward, the manager of Sam Goody walked up to the stand and swore under oath. "Mr. Lestin, would you state the whereabouts of your employee, Ross Delani, on the morning of June 17th?"

"He was at the Sam Goody, working like he always does," he responded.

"And at about what time was that about?"

"Well, his shift is from 9:30 to 5:30, and he was there the whole time, save for when he was at the hospital."

"Thank you, Mr. Lestin. No more questions," she said walking back to her spot.

_Wait a minute, _Casey thought, _I told Ross it was 9:45 before he attacked me. This guy is up to something…but I can't just come up and say that he raped me. Who would believe me? _

She finally got the courage to stand up. "Are you sure his shift isn't from 9:45 to 5:45?"

He gave her a look of confusion. "Yes, I'm absolutely positive."

"What about from 10:30 to 5:45?" she asked.

"His shift is from 9:30 to 5: 30, Ms. Novak," he said again.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Objection. Asked and answered. Another thing what's your point, Ms. Novak?"

_Oh crap, _she thought as she felt the tears coming back. _Not now, please. I can't break apart now. Keep it together, Casey, keep it together. _She looked down at the ground and took a deep breath before saying. "Never mind, withdrawn. I have no questions," she said in a voice that seemed rather small and quiet-like.

"Mr. Lestin, you may step down. Any others, Ms. Landenberg?"

"Yes, your Honor, the defense calls Ross Delani to the stand," she said.


	6. Why Didn't You Say Something?

**Disclaimer: I'm serious…I don't own L&O: SVU… **

**Author's Note: Thank you to lovely reviewers, especially VampirePrincess86...you ROCK! I hope you guys like this chapter as much as I do, so just read and review and I will love you forever! **

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 6: Why Didn't You Say Something? _

By: Nimmireth

Courtroom 

"Would you state your name for the court?" Michelle asked her client.

"Ross Delani," he said.

"Mr. Delani, could you tell us where you were the morning of June 17th?"

"I was at work, just like my boss said, but I had to go to the hospital for a little while because my eye got injured in a small car accident," he told her.

"Now in September of 2002 your sister, Kristen, was sexually assaulted, is that correct?"

"Yes, that is correct," he responded.

"How did you take that?" she wondered.

"I was so pissed. I hated the guy who did that to her. When he was arrested I wanted to beat the crap out of him for what he had done to my sister. What he did to her was so stupid and it was terrible the way she was after it happened. She was always so scared and helpless. I would've killed Justin if I had the chance," he said.

"Mr. Delani, do you think that you are able to commit such a crime?"

"No," he told her.

"Did you rape Melissa Albert?" she asked slowly.

"No," he said.

_That bastard is lying under oath, _Casey thought, _I can't believe it! And he knows he's guilty. He knows damn well that he did it! Oh, he is toast. _

"Thank you, Mr. Delani. I have no more questions," Michelle said and walked back to her seat.

"Your witness, Ms. Novak," the judge told her.

_Crap, I really don't think that I can talk to him. I don't want to talk to him. I can't. I can't. I can't do it._ She looked directly into his eyes; an overwhelming amount of power and confidence spread everywhere throughout her body. She knew she could do it. She knew that she could grill him on the stand. She needed to see him go down for what he did. He was going to fry. _You are SO mine… _

Casey stood up with more confidence than she felt ever since she had been raped. "If you didn't rape her than what about Amelia Robbins?"

"Objection," Michelle said.

"Sustained. Ms. Novak," the judge said, looking at her as if she was a little kid giving the excuse "my dog ate it" for not having her homework.

"Withdrawn. Mr. Delani, what happened to your car?"

"What are you talking about Ms. Novak?" he asked.

"Let me rephrase that; was there any broken glass from the windshield of your car after your supposed small car accident?"

"A little, why do you ask?" he questioned.

"Well, is it possible that you could've gotten more than one scratch after this 'car accident'?" she asked, making the finger motion for quotes around the words 'car accident.'

"Objection. Relevance?" Michelle Landenberg said.

"Ms. Novak," the judge said.

"Withdrawn. Mr. Delani, why is your boss covering for you?"

"Ms. Novak, I'm afraid I have no idea of what you're talking about," he told her, his voice firm.

"Sure you do, now tell us why your boss is covering for you," she said her voice also rising in volume.

"Objection. You're honor, his boss clearly stated that my client was on time for his work and was there the entire time. So unless Ms. Novak is suggesting that she knows something about my client then maybe she should get to the point."

"Sustained. Ms. Novak, you heard Ms. Landenberg," the judge told her.

Casey took a deep breath, this was going no where. She turned to the defendant. "I'm not afraid of you," she told him, her voice solid.

He raised an eyebrow. "Should you be, Ms. Novak?"

"Not anymore," she told him.

"Good," he said.

"Do you even know what I'm talking about, Mr. Delani?" she wondered.

There was a slight pause. "Oh, we're talking about that now, are we?"

"Oh yeah, we're talking about that now," she snapped.

He paused for a moment. "What do you want to say to me, Ms. Novak? Huh? What do you want to say to me?"

"You're Honor, permission to approach?" Ms. Landenberg stood up and questioned the judge.

Judge Lawrence motioned for the two counselors to come up to his bench. He covered the microphone.

"You're Honor, my client and Ms. Novak are apparently having a private conversation amongst an open court. I suggest either she get to the point or withdraw the last few comments."

"I agree. Ms. Novak is there a reason as to why you keep asking questions that have nothing to do with the case?"

"The questions have everything to do with the case," she told them.

"Then get to the point."

The attorneys both walked away and resumed their previous positions, Michelle at the defense table and Casey in the middle of the courtroom beginning to pace.

She gave him a look of pure hatred. "You remember, don't you? 'Excuse me, do you have the time.' 'Yeah, it's 9:45.' 'You're late.'"

The courtroom became awkwardly silent. Everyone was staring at her with confusion in their eyes. "That knife, where do you have it? Where is it?"

"I don't know—"

"You don't know? How could you not know? You're the one who used it!"

"Objection! You're Honor—"

"Ms. Novak, what did I just tell you!" the judge asked her.

She ignored him. "Mr. Delani, how could you possibly think that you could get away with something like this? The victims know exactly what you look like, you have no proof of the car accident, and you don't have an alibi because your boss is covering for you! Why?"

Michelle spoke. "You're Honor, this is absurd. How could she possibly know if—"

"Absurd?" she shouted and turned to the defense attorney. "Absurd? You think that it's absurd that I happen to know that his boss is covering for him? You think that it's absurd that I happen to know that there was no car accident? Well, you know what?" She walked over to her brief case and pulled out the semen-covered woodchip in the plastic bag. "If you would allow it, you're Honor, I would like to submit this woodchip for testing and compare it to the DNA of Mr. Delani."

"Objection, you're Honor! How could she possibly know that that is the DNA from my client if she—"

"What the hell is that?" Ross asked Casey.

"Oh, you're scared now, are you?" she shouted. "You decided to leave me a little present afterward, didn't you?"

"What the hell is that?" he asked again in a stronger voice.

"It's a woodchip covered in you're semen, Mr. Delani!" she told him. "Now, like I said, to prove that you are guilty of this crime I would like to compare it with your DNA!"

"Objection! You're Honor—"

"Michelle, obviously you don't get it. You're Honor, I would like to make another indictment against the defendant."

"You're Honor—"

"What is it, Ms. Novak?" the judge wondered.

"The rape of Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak."


	7. Someone Else

**Disclaimer: begins counting money in wallet ten…fifteen…twenty. Is that enough to own something like L&O: SVU? Damn…didn't think so… **

**Author's Note: I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. I started another fic and that got me going. I've also had school and I noticed several flaws in this fic. In fact, I have to change a lot of it. I warn you, this chapter is CRAP. But do me a favor anyway and just REVIEW! **

**Time and Secrets**

_Chapter 7: Someone Else _

By: Nimmireth

Chambers of Judge Fredrick Lawrence 

"What the hell just happened in there, Counselor?" Michelle asked her after they had entered the judge's chambers.

Casey took a deep breath before responding. "I just told a court room full of people that your client raped me," she calmly explained.

"Yeah, I got that. Now what the hell is going on?"

"Your client raped me, Ms. Landenberg. What else do you need to know?"

Michelle sighed. "Casey, why didn't you tell someone before?" she asked.

Casey turned and faced the window; the tears were coming back. She closed her eyes and began to take slow, deep breaths to prevent the tears from pouring down her cheeks.

Michelle approached her and put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Hey," she began softly. "Why didn't you tell someone?"

Casey glanced at her before looking at the ground, eyes closed. "I don't know, Michelle," she told her, her voice shaky and intimidated. "I don't know. I couldn't. I-" She choked. The tears had started to flow down the side of her face. She sat down on a green, velvet armchair and stared at her knees, arms crossed over her abdomen.

Michelle kneeled down next to her, rubbing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," she said, wrapping her arms around her. "It's okay." Casey broke down in the defense attorney's arms. Michelle couldn't help it either; tears began to glide down her face too.

Even the judge couldn't stand the feeling of defenselessness in the prosecutor; he took the sample that she had given him before they entered his chambers and walked back into the courtroom. "All rise for Judge Lawrence," said a court marshal. The judge sat down and seconds later, so did the rest of the courtroom.

"Bailiffs," the judge began. "Take the defendant into custody while detectives investigate the rape of Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak. We will return on July 10th, 9:00 a.m. sharp. We're adjourned," he said as he banged the gavel and the rest of the spectators in the courtroom stood up and began gossiping about the court proceedings.

All Elliot and Olivia could do was stare at each other. Olivia had been right; there was definitely something up, but they never expected it to be something that serious. "Elliot, what the hell just happened?" Olivia asked him, dreading the already-known answer.

He sighed. "Casey just told an open courtroom that Ross Delani raped her," he told her.

Olivia shook her head. "I can't believe this; why didn't she say anything?"

Elliot shrugged. "I don't know, but I think we should have a word with our friend, Ross, about this," he told her as they exited the courtroom at top speed.

Riker's Island

"You are SO screwed, Ross," Elliot scolded the rapist in an interrogation room. "You raped an Assistant District Attorney, let alone the fact that it was OUR Assistant District Attorney! What the hell were you thinking?"

Ross was silent for a moment. "I. Didn't. Rape. Anyone!" he told them.

Olivia nearly slapped him. "If your DNA matches what was on that woodchip than that means you did rape her; so you'd better pray that it doesn't match or you're busted!"

Ross stayed silent. "Come on, Ross," Elliot nearly shouted. "It won't matter what you say if the DNA is a match, so just tell us what you did."

Ross didn't speak. "Ross," Olivia began. "You don't know how much trouble you will be in if we find out that you raped our ADA, but if the DNA is a match, then you will and you will not be too happy. Just tell us—"

"My own SISTER was raped! Why would I rape someone if I would want to kill the bastard who raped my sister?"

"Fine, then tell us why your boss is covering for you," Olivia said.

"Oh, god. Why do you believe her? I didn't do anything to her!"

"I'm sure you didn't. That's why she didn't tell anyone at first and finally got the guts to confront you in court!" Elliot said to him.

"All she wants is to see me go to jail!"

"She's never even seen you before she was raped! Why would she suddenly have a vendetta against you?"

"I don't know, maybe because she's so positive that I did the other ones that she would accuse me of raping her!" he explained loudly.

Olivia's cell phone rang. "Benson," she answered. "Okay…thanks very much…bye," she hung up. "Elliot, Warner got results from Melissa's rape kit."

Office of the Medical Examiner 

Elliot and Olivia pushed the plastic curtain and entered. "Warner," Elliot began. "Please tell me that Ross Delani is our guy."

She looked up and sighed. "Well, the semen was a dead on match to Ross Delani, but there is something rather interesting on her shirt."

"Define 'interesting,'" Elliot said.

She walked the two detectives over to Melissa's pink tank top and pointed out a small spot on it. "This spot here," she began. "It's saliva. And it doesn't match Ross. And it can't be her own." she put the karyotype up by the florescent lighting. "Look at the 23rd chromosome." she pointed to it; one sister chromosome was short while the other was long. "It's an XY chromosome: another man was there."

The detectives looked at each other, eyes wide. "Melissa failed to mention that," Elliot said.

Apartment of Melissa Albert 

Elliot knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Melissa called from inside.

"Detectives Benson and Stabler, Melissa; we want to have a word with you," Elliot told her.

The detectives heard the lock on the door click and Melissa opened the door. "Can I help you, detectives?" she asked, standing in the doorway.

"Melissa, can you tell us what happened the day you were raped?" Olivia asked her.

"I did; approximately six times," she told them. "I already had my day in court and I already testified against the bastard who raped me and my story hasn't changed since that day. Why?"

Elliot sighed. "The medical examiner found saliva on your shirt; it didn't match Ross Delani's DNA." Melissa's eyes went into a V. "You didn't tell us the whole story Melissa; someone else was there. Who was it?"

Melissa's eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh, my god," she said. "Oh, my god! I-It must have been him!"

"Who? It must have been who, Melissa?" Olivia asked.

"I-I didn't think anything of it at the time."

"Didn't think anything of what, Melissa?"

Melissa's voice suddenly picked up speed. "Ross walked over to this guy wearing a green jacket. He had dark hair and was about his height. I saw him in court. I-I didn't recognize him at first, but now I know it was him! Oh, god; he must have spit on me after I blacked out!"

"Who?" Olivia asked for the third time. "Who must have?"

"His boss! Alan Lestin!" she said as her voice broke. "I saw him looking at me when Ross was walking away!"


	8. Laptop and DNA

**Disclaimer: You know what I'm going to say so don't even ask…hehe…**

**Author's Note: This story is getting a lot more complicated now…which means MORE WORK FOR ME! YES! Teeheehee, but I love writing, so I don't mind the work. This chapter is kinda short, by the way...OMG! I AM SOSOSOSOSOSO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN FOREVER! My laptop died and I had to get a new one, so now I can FINALLY finish my other stories!**

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 8: Laptop and DNA _

By: Nimmireth

Riker's Island 

"Your boss is in on this!" Elliot shouted at him directly in his face. "He knows what you were doing! Do you care to explain, Ross? Or was he just coming to pick you up after a little shopping spree?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ross asked. "What does Alan have to do with this?"

"Melissa saw you walking over to him after you raped her," Olivia explained, sitting on the table in front of him. "Why don't you tell us what he was doing there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I was working and Alan can prove it!"

"Well, if Alan was in on this than of course he would cover for you," Elliot said. "Come on, what do you have to loose? You're in enough trouble as it is! Just tell us."

He sat there in silence. "Ross?" Olivia said. "Did he threaten you?"

He shook his head. "Not me," he said. "My sister."

Elliot and Olivia glanced at each other. "Alan threatened Kristen?" Olivia asked.

Ross nodded. "What did he say?" Elliot asked.

He sighed. "One morning while I was at work, he started talking about something that he saw online on his laptop. He showed it to me; it was some porn site. It was disgusting; there were things like people having sex while they were in surgery, four people having sex at one time. But there was one that he kept showing me over and over again; it was about this guy who raped six girls. He would ask them what time it was and they would answer. He would say 'you're late' and then do his thing. Alan told me that I looked a lot like the guy who was on the video. Then he started talking about how cool it would be to just be like him and have sex with a girl right there and then. He told me that I should do it. I called him a sicko and said he was going to burn in hell. He laughed and started talking crap about Kristen; how hot she was, how nice she was. How he would love to have sex with her until the sun came up. I told him that if he touched my sister I would kill him. He said 'just make my dreams come true' and put the knife in my pocket."

Elliot and Olivia both sat in chairs and listened intently. "What did you do then?" Olivia asked.

Ross sighed again. "He led me out of the store and walked around the area with me. He would just pick out a random woman and say 'do your thing.' He was watching me the entire time I was with them."

Elliot exhaled. "How many were there?"

"Just the three," he told them. "Your friend was the first one. She kicked me in the face; that's where I got the bruise. I would have just left, but I knew that Alan was watching. I had to keep going. The poor thing was crying like a baby the whole time. I felt like I should kill myself, but Alan wanted me to keep going. That other girl, Amelia, was next and Melissa was the last one."

"But you were arrested before Melissa's rape," Olivia said.

"He still wanted me to keep going," he told them. "He told me I had to keep going until I either met or surpassed the amount that the guy in the video did. But I got caught, again. And I'm kind of glad you did catch me; he would have made me do someone else."

The detectives looked at each other and stood up. "Let's go pick him up," Elliot said.

Sam Goody 

"Police!" Elliot shouted as they entered the Sam Goody that Ross worked at. Then he spotted Alan from across the room. "Alan Lestin?"

"Is there something I can do for you, Detectives?" he asked. Elliot promptly grabbed one of Alan's arms and spun him around, pushing him up against the wall. He pulled his handcuffs out and wrapped them around his wrists. "Hey, what the--?"

"Alan Lestin, you are under arrest for perjury, aiding and abating a felon and criminal facilitation in rape. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney…"

Special Victims Unit: Interrogation 

"What the hell is going on?" Alan demanded. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"Not according to Ross," Elliot told him. "You actually _like _watching women get raped? Now that is sick."

"That's disgusting! What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ross told us about that little porn site that you like. You know; the one with that guy who looks like Ross, walks up to them, asks them what time it is, they give it to him, and he rapes them…that one."

"It's perfectly legal," he told them.

"But telling someone to rape is not," Olivia told him. "Now, why would you want to hurt Kristen; the poor girl was already raped, raping her again is just sick."

"Why would I want to hurt her? I like Kristen; I think she's cool."

"You think she's hot," Elliot reminded him. "Remember? Rambling on about her; telling Ross that you want to, and I quote, 'have sex with her until the sun comes up.'"

"By the way, spitting on Melissa was not that smart," Olivia told him. "What did she do to you?"

Alan closed his mouth for a moment. "You better get me a damn lawyer."

Special Victims Unit: Observation 

Elliot and Olivia walked out of interrogation and into the observation room where Captain Cragen was watching from behind the two-way mirror. "What the hell was that?" he asked.

"Let me tell you something," Elliot began. "All we need is his DNA and his laptop to nail the son of a bitch."

"Well, then get a warrant and go get them!" Cragen said. "He is responsible for the rape of three women, including Casey; I was his ass on a hot plate."

Apartment of Alan Lestin 

Olivia and Elliot, as well as the crime scene unit, were scrounging around the apartment, looking in every nook and cranny to see if they could find Alan's laptop. His room was a disgusting shade of blue and had posters of Nirvana, Green Day, and Brittney Spears everywhere.

"I hear she's pregnant," Elliot said, looking at a picture of Brittney.

"I heard that, too," Olivia responded. "You find anything yet?"

"No sign of the laptop, but," he continued, walking over to the wooden bedside table. He picked up Alan's red hairbrush. "We might have some DNA." He turned to a CSI and gave him the hairbrush. "Bag this," he began. "We need DNA, ASAP."

"Got it," he replied and put the brush in a plastic evidence bag.

Olivia was standing by the bed. She looked down by the mattress and noticed a corner of something sticking out. She took the corner and pulled on it. The second she looked at it, her eyes closed and her forehead wrinkled. "Oh, god," Olivia said.

"What's up?" her partner asked, walking up to her. She gave him the piece of paper and when he looked at it, he got very red in the face. "Son of a bitch."

4


	9. Deal and Test

**Disclaimer: bleh…**

**Author's Note: Thank you to all the loverly people who reviewed to my last chapter! Which reminds me, if you read this story, you better review or else I will hunt you down and then some… **

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 9: Deal and Test_

By: Nimmireth

Special Victims Unit: Interrogation 

Elliot slammed the piece of paper on the table in front of Alan, face up. He was completely and utterly livid; his face was almost the color of a tomato and their was a vein that was dangerously close to bursting all over the place. "You took _pictures!_" he nearly shouted at him. "You took _pictures, _you sick-ass bastard? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Alan looked at it for a second. It was a collage of all three attacks from a far away point of view. It showed many cut and pasted pictures of Amelia in the parking lot, Melissa in the dirty alleyway and, worst of all, Casey, in a forest, fighting as hard as she could. "That's not mine," he said.

"Really? It's not?" Olivia asked. "'Cause we found it under your mattress."

Alan sighed. "Ross gave it to me," he said, crossing his arms. "It was on some porn site that he found. He said I should go take a look at it."

"Did you?" Elliot asked.

"Yes," Alan replied. "And I liked it, too. There was some pretty hot stuff on it."

"Oh, you mean like a guy raping six women the exact same way that Ross raped three?" Elliot asked.

The door suddenly flew open. "Not another word, Alan," Lionel Granger said, jabbing his index finger before his client. "Detectives, would you mind giving me a moment with my client?"

Elliot took a deep breath and refused to take his eyes off of Alan. "Not at all," he said. He and his partner finally turned around and left the room.

Special Victims Unit: Observation 

Cragen turned to his two detectives as they were walking out of interrogation. "I'm surprised you didn't punch him in the testicles," he said.

Elliot inhaled deeply. "Me too," he said. "I sure hope that bastard is ready to rot in hell, 'cause that's where he's going the second we're done with him."

"Amen to that," Munch said as he walked in the door with Fin. "By the way, Warner said that's she's testing the DNA right now, but she wants to see Casey."

"Sure," Elliot said. Then his eyes went into a 'V' and he looked around. "Where is she?"

"I don't know," Cragen said. "Call her; we really need to talk to her."

Chambers of Judge Fredrick Lawrence 

In the midst of a very awkward silence, Casey and Michelle both heard a cell phone beginning to beep. Casey inhaled deeply. "That's mine," she said. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller I.D.; it was Olivia. She opened up her phone and put it up to her ear. "Olivia, what's going on?"

"Casey, where are you?" Olivia asked. "Warner wants to talk to you."

"Uh-I'm still in chambers. Why? What does Melinda want?"

"I have no idea; all Munch said was that she wanted to talk to you."

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can," Casey responded. She then closed her phone and put it back in her pocket. "I-I'm sorry, Michelle, I have to go," she said. She turned to leave, but then Michelle stopped her in her tracks.

"Casey," she began. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Don't, Michelle. Please don't start that with me now; I'm really not up to it, at the moment," Casey said. She put her hand on the doorknob and started to turn it.

"Casey, where are you going?"

"M.E.'s office; Doctor Warner wanted to see me."

Michelle crossed her arms over her chest. "Want me to take you there?"

Casey took a deep breath. "No, but thanks. I can take care of myself." She turned back to the door and began to open it again.

"Casey," Michelle began again.

She turned back to Michelle, a little annoyed. "Yes?"

"If you ever need anything, anyone to talk to, you know I'm here."

Casey nodded. "Thank you, Michelle, I appreciate it," she said. "Really I do. Thank you." She finally opened the door and left the judge's chambers.

As she wandered through the courthouse and the parking lot she could not stop thinking about what had happened to her. And Amelia. And Melissa. They had all been raped, by the same man, for no particular reason whatsoever. They had all been stabbed, attacked, and violated, and she could not stop the tears that began to well in her eyes again. But there was just one thing that concerned her; what did Melinda want? Why did she want to see Casey?

Without even realizing it, she had made it in front of the M.E.'s office. She had parked her car and was just sitting there, thinking. Finally, she can to her senses and got out of her car.

Office of the Medical Examiner 

"Dr. Warner," Casey called as she walked through the plastic drapery. "You wanted to see me?"

Melinda turned to her. "Yes, Ms. Novak, all I wanted to do was take a simple blood test to check for STDs."

Casey raised her eyebrows. "Shouldn't I go to the hospital or something?" she wondered.

"Not today," Warner said. "We're going to do this right here, right now. Take a seat and I'll get you set up."

"All right," Casey said, rolling up her sleeve. As she sat down, she noticed Melinda getting out all the equipment necessary for a blood test. _Damn, _Casey thought to herself,_ I hate needles. _Casey then started humming to the tune of "Deck the Halls" when the needle was being stuck in her arm.

Melinda looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "A little early to be singing Christmas songs, don't you think?"

Casey actually chuckled. "It's just something my mother taught us when my brothers and I were kids and we had to get shots or something like that; she told us to think about Christmas and we wouldn't even feel the pain. It worked, too, sadly."

"Well, when _I _was a kid," Melinda began, pulling the needle out of Casey's arm. "My parents told my siblings and I to shut up and get over it." Casey laughed. "Oh, but my parents were the coolest, you know?" She continued as she put a bandage over the needle mark and started to get the test set up. "They would take us to the movies a lot, we would go on family trips, they even took the time to do homework with us. It was nice."

She finished getting the test ready and took off her gloves. "The test will be ready in a few days; I'll give you the results ASAP."

Casey looked down at the ground. "Thanks, Melinda," she said.

"Hey," Melinda said, putting an arm on Casey's shoulder. "You're going to get through this. Mark my words, you'll be the same kick-ass attorney that you were before any of this ever happened."

Casey looked up at Melinda again. "I hope you're right," she said.

"I know I'm right," she responded. "Go. Go home and get some rest, you need it after all of this."

Special Victims Unit: Interrogation 

"Okay, Detectives, my client will plead guilty to perjury, but he had no idea what Ross was doing so how could he possibly have known that he was a felon?" Granger said.

"Your client had pictures of Ross while he was attacking three different women! He knew damn well what Ross was doing!" Elliot shouted at him.

"That was the guy on the porn site, not Ross!" Alan yelled.

"Bullshit!" Olivia said. "We also found the pictures on your digital camera! Oh, AND the word document that you have on your laptop computer!"

"Face it, Alan," Elliot began. "You're screwed," he said, pushing a pad of yellow lined paper.

Alan remained silent and took a deep breath. Lionel Granger leaned over to him and whispered in his ear. The two detectives crossed their arms and looked at each other in satisfaction. Granger finally sat upright. "Get McCoy in here," he said. "Let's make a deal."

Office of the Medical Examiner **(later that night) **

"Hey, Melinda," said Medical Examiner, Dr. Elizabeth Rodriguez, as she entered the testing room.

"Hey, Liz," Melinda replied, as she sat at the computer. "What's going on?"

"Oh, I got stuck with the worst dead guy, ever!" she groaned, throwing a forensic kit on the table.

"Why? What's so bad about him?" Warner wondered.

"He's huge with a ton of body hair, he was stabbed over a hundred times and his genital region was completely chopped in half!" Rodriguez complained.

Melinda chuckled. "Welcome to my world," she said.

"What're you working on?"

"I'm just testing a rape victim's blood," Melinda answered.

"Weren't you helping with the case where that ADA told an open courtroom that she was raped by the guy she was prosecuting?" Elizabeth wondered.

Melinda sighed. "Yeah," she said. "It's so sad, too. Casey's a good friend of mine."

"I know, it sucks," Rodriguez moaned. "But, what can you do? Life's a bitch."

"I'll say."

Rodriguez then looked at her watch. "Crap!" she said. "Aww, man, I have to go to my kids' band concert! All right, Melinda, I better get the heck out of me or my husband will beat me for making him hear the crappy music that fifth graders make!"

Melinda giggled. "All right, I'll see you 'round, Liz."

As soon as Rodriguez left the computer beeped, informing her that the test results were done. She printed out the page and stared at it long and hard. As she got to the bottom of the page, she closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh, my god."


	10. Surprises

**Disclaimer: Again, I do not claim to own anything that you recognize. However, I will say that in the last chapter, I own the character Elizabeth Rodriguez. Just so you know…**

**Author's Note: This chapter is a little short…I hope you all can forgive me for that. **

**Thank you to all of the beautiful people who reviewed to my last couple of chapters. You are amazing people. As to all of the other people who didn't review, you better review or I will be very very sad and I will crawl into a corner and pout for three hours. **

**Time and Secrets **

_Chapter 10: Surprises _

By: Nimmireth

District Attorney Conference Room 

In one of the District Attorney Conference rooms, Lionel granger sat in a black business suit and a blue and yellow striped tie next to his client, Alan Lestin. The door opened and Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy and his coworker, Alexandra Borgia, entered. The two pulled out the green, velvet chair and they sat down. As the two sat down, Jack adjusted his solid red tie and Alexandra adjusted her black skirt "Well, Lionel," Jack began. "What are we doing here?"

"We're here to make a deal?" Lionel Granger asked him. "What are you going to offer him?"

"What's you're client willing to pay for, Mr. Granger?" Jack asked him. "He doesn't have anything we need, why do you want us to make a deal if he wants to plead guilty and doesn't have anything good for us to use against someone else?"

Granger looked at his client before he spoke again. "My client knows a little something about this guy. You might want to consider a low number, it's very decent information."

"What guy? What did he do that was so terrible that you're willing to rat on him, Mr. Lestin?" Jack wondered.

Granger leaned over to his client to whisper to him. Jack McCoy looked over at Alexandra and shrugged. She returned the gesture.

Granger sat back up as Alan took a deep breath. "I know this guy," Alan began. "He, umm…He's a really good chemist, ya know? He has a lab in the basement where I work and, uh, that's where he gets his customers and where he sells his dope. He was cooking down there a few weeks ago, actually. Sold a lot, got at least 15 grand."

Alexandra and Jack glanced at each other again. "Give us a name and maybe we'll consider a plea," Jack said.

Alan paused for a moment before responding. "Justin Felix."

Special Victims Unit 

"As in the Justin Felix that raped Ross's sister?" Elliot asked when Alexandra and Jack delivered the information. They both nodded. "How? He was sentenced to fifteen years!"

"Paroled," Alexandra said. "Six months ago, actually. He was let out because he had such good behavior," she explained.

"Good behavior, my ass," said Munch.

"My thoughts, exactly," Jack said. "We're going to leave this one to Narcotics; we just thought you guys should know."

"Thanks," they all responded.

Jack looked down for a second. "How's she doing?" he asked.

The four detectives glimpsed at each other. "Honestly?" Elliot asked. "No idea. Probably not too good, but she'll get past it; she's a though kid."

"Too true," Munch said. "Thanks again, guys, we'll see you around."

Jack and Alex nodded and left the Special Victims Unit. The detectives groaned and regrouped. "How _is _Casey?" Munch asked.

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know, I was actually going to go to her apartment later and see what's going on."

"Good," Elliot said. "This place is getting so boring without her."

Apartment of Casey Novak 

Olivia knocked on the door several times before Casey finally opened the door. She was wearing a purple shirt and grey sweatpants. Her eyes were puffy, red and wet; she had definitely been crying. "Casey," Olivia said.

She sniffled. "Olivia, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Olivia sighed. "I just came to see how you were doing," she said.

"I'll be all right, Liv," she said, wiping her face again. "Really, I'm a big girl; I'll get over it."

Olivia stared at her for a moment. "You want to talk about it?"

Casey sighed. "No, that's okay," she said, and she began to close the door. Olivia, however, stuck her foot out to prevent the door from closing. Casey turned back to her. "What?"

"Come on, Casey," Olivia began. "You really look like you need someone to talk to."

Casey sniffled again and exhaled deeply. "Come in."

Olivia stepped inside and closed the door. "So," Olivia began. "Start from the beginning."

She walked over to her couch, sat down, and broke out into a half sob. "I don't know what to do anymore," she began. "I hate feeling like this; I hate feeling like a victim. It sucks."

Olivia sighed. "I could only imagine," she told her as she sat down next to her.

Casey sobbed. "I was just so embarrassed. That's why I didn't tell you guys. I didn't want you guys to look at me like some weak little girl who couldn't defend herself against some punk."

"You were raped, Casey," Olivia said. "You know that we deal with those cases all the time; we wouldn't think any less of you."

She whimpered again and wiped her eyes. "I always thought of myself as the person who was helping the victims, the person who was there for the victims, the person who brought the victims justice. I never actually thought that I would have to be the victim."

She completely broke down then. The sobbing and sniffling refused to stop. Olivia took her by the shoulders and put Casey's head on her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around her and Casey followed suit. She continued to cry on Olivia's shoulder while Olivia stroked her hair. "Just let it out," she said. "It's okay, Casey, just let it out."

When Casey calmed down, Olivia noticed something on the coffee table in front of them; there was a piece of paper on top of a brownish- yellow envelope. As Casey sat up, Olivia went to pick up the piece of paper. "What's this?" she asked.

She snatched the paper out of Olivia's hands and clenched it towards her body. "Nothing," she told her.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked.

Casey sighed. "You remember when you called me and told me that Melinda wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Olivia said.

She sniffled. "She wanted me to take a blood test," she told her. "She came to me a couple of hours ago with the results."

Olivia exhaled deeply. "Did he give you something?" she asked.

She groaned. "In a manner of speaking," she said.

"What does that mean?"

Casey put the envelope and paper back on the table. She entwined her fingers around one another and sobbed once. She then took a deep breath and looked towards the floor. "I'm pregnant."


End file.
